The United States will provide Ukraine with cluster-style artillery rounds for use on their own territory to repel Russian invading forces, the White House has said. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters on Friday that Kyiv has “provided written assurances” that it would use the controversial weapons “in a very careful way that is aimed at minimising any risk to civilians”. He said the Defence Department would provide further details on the next arms package that will be sent to Ukraine, but he pointed out that Kyiv’s forces are “firing thousands of rounds a day to defend against Russian efforts to advance and also to support its own efforts to retake its sovereign territory”. The national security adviser suggested the decision to provide Ukraine with cluster weapons already in US stocks was necessary to keep up a steady flow of arms for Kyiv’s defence. “We have provided Ukraine with a historic amount of unitary artillery rounds and we are ramping up domestic production of these rounds. We’ve already seen substantial increases in production, but this process will continue to take time, and it will be critical to provide Ukraine with a bridge of supplies. While our domestic production is ramped up,” he said. “We will not leave Ukraine defenceless at any point in this conflict period”. Mr Sullivan noted that Russia has been using their own version of cluster munitions, which are antipersonnel weapons that make use of small “bomblets” to maximise their effectiveness against massed troops, and pointed out that the Russian weapons have a high rate of failure which leaves the battlefield littered with unexploded ordinance. He added that the US-made shells that will be provisioned to Kyiv’s defence forces have a much lower failure rate, and said Ukraine’s government has committed to post-war de-mining that would prevent civilians from being harmed by unexploded submunitions, which in past conflict zones have lingered for years. While a 2008 treaty, the Oslo Convention on Cluster Munitions, has been signed by more than 100 nations which have agreed to ban the use of such weapons, neither the US, Russia or Ukraine are signatories to the treaty. He also contrasted Russia’s use of the weapons on Ukraine’s territory with Ukraine’s desire to use them to defend their own land. “When we look at what Ukraine would be doing with these weapons, as opposed to what Russia is doing with these weapons, we see a substantial difference. It doesn’t make it an easy decision, and I’m not going to stand up here and say it is easy,” he said, adding that the US had deferred a decision on providing cluster munitions for quite some time because it “required a real hard look at the potential harm to civilians”. “When we put all of that together, there was a unanimous recommendation from the national security team, and President Biden ultimately decided — in consultation with allies and partners and in consultation with members of Congress — to move forward on this step,” he said. Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

Sir Alex Ferguson signed some of the greatest players the Premier League has ever seen during his time in charge of Manchester United, but there’s one star who he still wishes he’d brought to Old Trafford. The legendary manager looked back at his 27 years in charge at the club and named the one star he wished he’d signed during his career. When asked about the player that got away, he said it was Paul Gascoigne. "Paul Gascoigne, without question. He was the best English player since Bobby Charlton, he was a fantastic player," Ferguson said back in 2021 [via Sportbible]. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The manager attempted to bring the midfielder to Old Trafford after watching him play for Newcastle against Man Utd. However, he’s already agreed a move to Tottenham and United missed out on the deal – which Ferguson claimed the player lived to regret. "We didn't get him and I think, looking back now, he made a big mistake. He recognised it himself years later,” said Ferguson. "We had Geordies in the camp – Bobby Charlton, Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce – even Gary Pallister from Middlesbrough. We had people there that would have taken care of him, particularly Bryan Robson – he was fantastic with players, as you know. "So he goes to an island, London, and you're easily swallowed up there, for a young lad. I think that was a big mistake by him. "He was a marvellous player. I loved his strength. We played at Newcastle up there on Easter Monday and he'd just come back from injury. They were near the bottom of the league and as soon as he came back they started winning games. Ferguson went on to say: "I went there and played three in the middle of the pitch – [Norman] Whiteside, Robson and Remi Moses. He destroyed them, and then he nutmegged Moses right in front of the dugout and patted him on the head! I'm jumping out the box going… "Honestly he was unbelievable and I said to [former Manchester United chairman] Martin Edwards on the way home: 'Sign this boy. Get on the phone to him on Monday.' "But by that time, he had already done a deal with Tottenham, which was really unfortunate. That was a disappointment because he agreed to sign and then Tottenham changed his mind by buying his mother and father a house.” After coming through the ranks at Newcastle, Gascoigne played for the likes of Tottenham, Lazio, Rangers and Middlesborough over the course of his career. He was capped 57 times for England. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Who would throw a shoe?

Players at Women’s Championship side London City Lionesses have sent an email to their owner, Diane Culligan, urging her to sell the club. Under Culligan’s leadership, the London City Lionesses broke away from the Millwall Lionesses in 2019 and formed as a fully professional club, earning a third-place finish in the 2022/23 second tier, just three points off Bristol City who earned promotion to the WSL. But a report from BBC Sport claims the players feel the club is in danger of ceasing to exist without improved funding and structure, leading the squad to plead for action. BBC’s Emma Sanders reports having obtained access to the email sent to Culligan by all 20 London City Lionesses players, with the team currently lacking a permanent manager and facing significant financial concerns. The players implored Culligan to make a change by way of either new investment or a new majority owner to demonstrate the same courage displayed a few years ago when she created the club. “With the increasing lack of staff in key roles, a small number of players contracted, the ongoing management of injured players, the question of a manager still to be addressed, and the financial instability with the last payday, the team is filled with much doubt and a shadow of uncertainty has been cast over the club,” part of the email from players to the owner read. “In these challenging times, we as a team want to respectfully plead with you to think of the future and explore alternative ways to run this club. “The harsh reality is that without immediate action due to pre-season looming, we risk undoing all the great work that you and London City Lionesses have achieved, and also put the future of players currently contracted to the club at risk. By seeking new owners and investors who can inject much-needed financial stability, we can secure the longevity of our team.” The Lionesses found themselves at the top of the table in January, but their manager, Melissa Phillips, departed to join WSL side Brighton. The season took a somewhat unfavorable turn for the club after Phillips’ departure, but the club still managed to secure a third-place finish. In their email, the Lionesses made it clear to Culligan that they value the dedication she has shown in bringing the club to this stage, but they believe it is now crucial to allow the club to thrive in its current state. In their email, they requested her to, “once again be bold, and consider all possible avenues for the survival and growth of our club.” The club issued a statement in response to the email written by the players, conveyed to BBC Sport, insisting it remains focused on running “the club in a sustainable manner.” “We continue to strive for excellence both on the pitch and in how we manage the club. As part of this we are in active discussions with globally recognised strategic investment partners to assist with our growth. We remain committed to providing the best possible environment for the players and staff as they navigate the highly competitive Women’s Championship and seek promotion to the Women’s Super League.” The BBC report further indicates that only four players will remain under contract from 1 July, while one player had to wait for over two months to receive confirmation that a severe injury would be addressed by the club. Regardless of the outcome of the situation, it is hoped that the London City Lionesses can regain some stability and in time for when the Women’s Championship resumes in August. Read More Millie Bright offers injury update ahead of Women’s World Cup England women’s star Alex Greenwood suffers injury scare in training Staniforth added to England’s World Cup standby list amid injury worry Millie Bright offers injury update ahead of Women’s World Cup England women’s star Alex Greenwood suffers injury scare in training Staniforth added to England’s World Cup standby list amid injury worry

No. 5 Florida State puts its 17-game winning streak on the line against Florida, which has lost four in a row and needs a victory to become bowl eligible

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was in tears as he retired from football after a stellar 24-year career. Sweden’s legendary forward announced his decision to step away from the game at 41, taking in the San Siro crowd after AC Milan’s final match of the season on Sunday. He scored 511 goals for clubs including Paris St-Germain, Barcelona, Manchester United and both AC and Inter Milan, winning league titles in four different countries. “There are too many emotions for me right now. Forza Milan and goodbye,” Ibrahimovic said to the crowd, holding back tears.

MLB players keep killing birds on the field.

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 7, 2023--

Spanish police have arrested 26 people in recent months for an alleged scheme to use water from illegal wells to grow subtropical fruit, as the country grapples with damaging heat and drought.

The Pentagon’s Central Command has decided to interview roughly two dozen service members who were at the Kabul airport when suicide bombers attacked during the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal but weren’t included in the military’s initial investigation

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has been indicted yet again, marking the third set of

When it comes to choosing baby names, it can be hard to pick just one. But what if you have two babies - and you really love a particular name? That’s what seems to be the case for one woman who recently had twin boys. Unusually, she gave the two babies the same name, but with a different spelling. One of the babies is named “Sean”, while the other is “Seen” - both pronounced “Shawn”. The family’s surname is also “Sean”. After hearing what she named her babies, one of her colleagues branded her decision “idiotic”. Taking to the Am I The A****** subreddit, the mother’s colleague sought outsider opinions over whether or not their critique was too harsh. Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter They explained that after a battle with infertility, their 39-year-old colleague finally welcomed a set of twins. She took the babies to the office to show them off to her team. But when the new mother shared their names, the Redditor blurted out: “This is the most idiotic thing I’ve ever heard, and it’s going to be so confusing”. The office worker said the reaction in the office was split. Some people laughed, while others “immediately looked away”. Others texted them later to say it’s not their place to comment on a person’s choice of name. Providing further context, the Redditor said that the kids do not have middle names as she wanted their names to be like “Tom Tom, or Jay Jay”. Apparently this isn’t “the first round of negative feedback” the mom has received. The top comment with over 23,000 upvotes is from an identical twin. They said: “Matching names is probably the cruellest thing you could do to a person. It’s not just confusing. It would keep the twins from developing identities outside their twin-ness.” They also rinsed the parents for their “creative spelling” of “Seen”. They added that although the original poster could have minced their words, “it needed to be said”. Another wrote: “Maybe I’m also an AH [a******] but if she can’t handle the backlash for her kids’ names, think about how her boys will feel growing up. Might as well start now because they’re in for a childhood of jabs and jokes! Hopefully she legally changes them after a good night’s sleep in a few months.” “If they were normal stupid twin names like Harry and Potter or Spider and Man or something I’d say YTA [you’re the a******] and mind your own business. However, I have to say NTA because that really is the most idiotic thing I’ve ever heard,” another remarked. In an update after it garnered attention on the forum, the original poster said their colleague’s husband, who is also a co-worker, saw the post. They wrote: “They had a good chuckle and ended up agreeing with the replies that the naming process wasn’t ideal, and maybe the overwhelming process of having two newborns left them too tired to think straight.” The parents are now reassessing the names, and are considering a new name for Seen, but they have decided to keep “Sean Sean”. The Redditor added: “They also want everyone to know that ‘calling her an idiot isn’t the worst thing I’ve said to her this year, and while I’ll definitely [be] an AH [a******], that’s more of an in general thing than tied to this situation’.” What do you make of this situation? Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.